The NFL responded to the NFLPA's response to Judge Helen Berrigan's concern that there could be a conflict of interest among the lawyers involved in the temporary restraining order to halt the suspension of New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith and former Saints defenders Scott Fujita and Anthony Hargrove. But the most noteworthy tidbit actually concerned a possible meeting between suspended linebacker Jonathan Vilma and Commissioner Roger Goodell.

The league provided letters from both sides stating that Vilma and Goodell were set to meet on Aug. 23 at the NFL offices in New York. But there were some issues in the way both sides perceived the format of the meeting pushing Vilma and his counsel to cancel the meeting.

In regard to the conflict of interest issue, the NFL took no position on the issue in its filing and said it would be inappropriate to comment on the substance of conversations between both sides. But the league also claimed that certain representations made by the NFLPA's counsel in its recent submissions to the court were neither complete nor accurate.